Imagine the reaction if President Obama and congressional Democrats had released a sweeping health care bill, drafted in closed-door meetings, and demanded its approval by Congress immediately. There would have been national outrage over the secrecy, lack of time for public hearings, and the absence of discussion, revisions, amendments, and multiple votes.

Yet that is exactly what the White House and Democrats are proposing once – and if – a deal on raising the debt limit by as much as $2 trillion is reached. The administration now insists on an agreement by July 22 in order for the government to avert a default on August 2.